Digitization Strategies, Technologies, and Practices
Campuses participating in the NITLE Network are digitizing materials or planning digitization projects for many reasons: for use in instruction, for archival and preservation purposes, and for public showcase. Many compelling reasons drive efforts to digitize content; at the same time, setting up a digitization project or function on campus involves many decisions and can potentially overwhelm a campus with questions about equipment, best practices, staffing resources, technologies, and standards. Participants in this workshop will learn critical knowledge needed to plan digitization projects, and leave with information that will help them plan, design, and implement digitization processes for locally held content. Topics to be covered include:
Digitization Environment
- Creating a campus digitization function
- Planning and managing digitization projects
- Project selection and scoping
- Staffing and skill sets
Equipment
- Analog to digital
- Choosing the right equipment, hardware and software
- Operating digitization equipment
Fine Tuning
- Digital file management and storage/infrastructure
- Establishing workflow and automation
- Digital technology standards
- Digital collections standards
Resources
- Funding sources
- Outsourcing and vendor selection
Faculty: James Gehrt is the Digitization Center Coordinator at Mt. Holyoke College. James has been a professional photographer for 15 years and a lab manager at a photographic conservation and digitization lab for 7 years (The Chicago Albumen Works). Working as the Digitization Center Coordinator at Mt. Holyoke College for the past 2 years, James has established the digitization center as a service point for the community and has implemented digitizing standards and workflow in addition to managing a staff of student workers. In 2008, James was selected as a NITLE Technology Fellow in the area of digitization technologies; jgehrt@mtholyoke.edu
